Bored and the Beast
by Noxialis
Summary: - Ken/Chikusa - AU Retelling of Beauty and the Beast - Ken is cursed into a beastly form until he can find someone who can love him. Chikusa is bored with the everyday routine in his little village, and agrees to become a prisoner to an interesting beast.


**Title:** Bored And The Beast

**Pairing:** Ken/Chikusa

**Summary:** Ken is cursed into a beastly form, waiting for the day when someone will love him despite his appearance. Chikusa's just bored with his life, and agrees to be Ken's captive in his enchanted castle.

**Notes: **This one is probably a bit more OOC than my other ones, mostly cause we don't see nearly enough of Ken and Chikusa. I still tried, though.

Also, I don't know why I made Belphegor Gaston. I really don't. I just needed someone who can be a dick. So I picked him.

I don't own anything.

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a young blonde prince, living in a castle filled with servants and all he could ever ask for. But the prince was arrogant and rude and beastly, and it cost him and his servants dearly, for one day a young girl came up to the castle. She knocked on the door and begged for shelter from the torrents of rain that cascaded across the land. Ken laughed at her, mocking the blue-haired girl until the skull on her eye patch flashed a blinding light.

When Ken opened his eyes, a powerful sorcerer stood before him, long blue ponytail flowing against the wind. The man's red eye flashed despite Ken's attempts at taking back what he said, and the sorcerer cursed him and his land, all the servants within brought to their knees with the sudden pressure. Ken howled in pain and the sorcerer vanished, leaving Ken covered in blonde fur, a hulking presence of paws and claws and teeth. The servants within had their souls locked into the object nearest them, and once inanimate objects became talking, walking vessels.

They were left with a rose, and the last haunting words of the sorcerer. _"This flower shall bloom for many years, and then begin to die. Should you find someone who can look past your hideous appearance and love you for who you are, the curse will be broken. But if the last petal falls from this rose before that happens, you and your servants will be stuck like this forever. Have fun, kufufufufu."_

The rumours spread like wildfire, of a prince in need of a love, and numerous young women and men came flocking to the castle in the hope that they could marry the prince and be set for life. But none could stand looking at him for long, and within a few years, Ken shut out the world, locking his castle gates and fading into legend.

Chikusa spent his days in a small village, wasting his life away bit-by-bit in a boring town filled with boring people. He'd spend his hours at home alone, playing with his yo-yo while his father would be out working on his latest invention. The monotony was only ever broken up when Belphegor would come pounding at his door in his attempts to woo the black-haired boy. Why the boy chose to focus on making Chikusa his wife, he had no idea.

"Ushishishishi, you should be flattered." Belphegor trapped Chikusa against a wall, his fingers rubbing on Chikusa's chin while the boy looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "I've decided that you will be the prince's wife, so just be quiet and marry me."

"I highly doubt you're an actual prince. Real princes have castles and all that." Chikusa replied calmly, causing Belphegor's fingers to tighten and his nails dug into the other boy's jaw. Chikusa tensed and raised a hand, batting away the appendage.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do." Chikusa scooted around the blonde boy and retreated calmly, hardly flinching when pain bloomed in his shoulder. He would later enter a store, turn around, and find a knife embedded in his shoulder. No surprises as to where _that_ came from.

But even that became a regular routine, and while Chikusa had initially thought the man who claimed to be a prince was interesting enough to spend time with, his opinion soon changed. There was nothing left in the town to interest the boy, but there was no way for him to just leave in search of some adventure.

In the middle of winter, Chikusa's father informed he that he was going to be leaving for the next town over, in order to sell a weapon he had been working on. The journey was supposed to only take a week, but the days passed, and Chikusa realized that something must have happened to his father, for he was gone a full two weeks.

He saddled up a horse and left the village, a green cloak around his shoulders to shield himself from the falling snow. He pressed his horse onwards, traveling through the overcast evening, the path twisting and turning, an already unfamiliar route becoming a new experience altogether. But he soon found himself reaching the edge of the trees, in a clearing before a pair of massive gates, the wire bent and broken enough for someone to easily slip through. He tied the reins to the gate and slipped through, scooping down to pick up a hat he recognized as his father's. Inches of snow had piled on top of it, signifying it had been there for a long time, and Chikusa worried for his father's condition.

Beyond the gates lay a castle, grand and dark and in a disarray, and Chikusa walked inside silently, looking around at the dark interior. He could barely see the entryway, and only the small flicker of flame was any indication that this place was inhabited. Chikusa walked towards the flame, finding a silver candelabra, and he lifted it to illuminate his pathway.

"Oi! Watch where you're grabbing!" Chikusa blinked slowly at the voice to his left, close to his ear, and turned to look at the candelabra he held in his hand.

"… What?"

"I said get your hands off me!" The candelabra spoke, and now that Chikusa looked, he could see a small face molded into the metal, moving as though it were alive. The arms of the candelabra moved as it spoke, ending in what he assumed was a fist shake. "I never gave you permission to pick me up!"

"I don't recall ever needing permission to hold a candelabra…"

"I'm not a candelabra!"

"… Yes you are."

The candelabra growled and lowered an arm, the flame at the end of his wick lighting Chikusa's cloak. Chikusa dropped the object and swatted at the flame, extinguishing it quickly.

"My name is Gokudera, stupid!" Chikusa stared down at it, deciding to humour the thing for now.

"Alright, Gokudera. Have you seen my father around here recently?"

"You expect me to know what your father looks like?" Gokudera snorted, and Chikusa squatted down in front of him.

"I doubt you get many visitors. Has someone come up here within the last two weeks?"

The two glared at each other before Gokudera snorted, a puff of smoke billowing out into the air around him. "Yeah. He got locked up pretty quickly."

"Show me where."

This was the sort of excitement Chikusa needed in his life, the perfect break from monotony. His father was missing, he had to travel deep into a strange castle to rescue him, and it seemed to be filled with various objects that could talk and had diverse personalities. Gokudera led him up flight upon flight of stairs, into a twirling tower that ended in a large, thick, wooden door.

Chikusa knelt by the lock, pulling out a pin and picking the device, satisfied with the clicking sound it made upon opening. He shoved the door open, peering into the darkness to find his father's face. The man rushed forwards to envelop his son in a grateful hug, but stopped before he reached him. Chikusa blinked, then shivered as he felt a gush of hot wind tickle his neck.

He turned around, coming face to face with a beast of a thing, standing taller than the boy even though its feet were planted a couple of stairs down. It was large, thick muscled and broad chested, covered in blonde and light brown fur, a pair of torn up pants covering his modesty, and a deep green cape flowing from his shoulders. He huffed upon seeing Chikusa's wide-eyed stare, and the boy winced as the breath hit his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The beast growled, shoving his face into Chikusa's, his large black nose pressing into Chikusa's own nose, his face angled downwards to stare directly into the boy's eyes. Chikusa's father behind him quivered, but Chikusa just stared back, unmoving.

"I'm here to release my father."

The beast laughed. "No way. He stole from me, so I'm gonna keep him here."

Chikusa was silent for a moment, his eyes glancing away from the beast, who had retreated his head back to snort and laugh at Chikusa and his father. Then he looked back up at the blonde beast and spoke up again. "Keep me here instead."

"Hehn?" The beast tilted his head and his father drew a sharp intake of breath behind him.

"Take me instead. My father develops and sells weapons. They'll be people that come after him when they don't get their order, and that'll just cause trouble for you. Nobody'd come after me."

The beast seemed to think on this for a moment, and then his lip curled back and his mouth widened in a smile, sharp teeth exposed and glinting in Gokudera's soft candlelight.

"Sounds good." He said, and raised a paw to push Chikusa into the jail cell. "Get going now."

Chikusa's father rushed out of the cell, barely giving Chikusa a pat on the back and a murmured "Good luck" before running down the stairs. The boy stood in the cell while the door closed behind him, the lock clicking shut with a very final sound. He walked over to the small window, and only a minute passed by before he could see his father running out of the castle. He took Chikusa's horse from the gates and rode off into the forest.

He knew he couldn't have expected any more from that man.

Chikusa sighed and wrapped his cloak around his body tighter, reaching into his pocket to pull out his yo-yo. He tossed it around, letting it spin and dance, playing with it until he felt sleep overcome his mind.

While his prisoner slept, Ken retreated to his den, curling up by the roaring fire for a while. But soon his servants decided to come forth, a teapot bouncing across the floor to settle a few feet away from his master's head.

"Umm, master?" Ken grunted in reply. The teapot continued. "Well, I was just thinking, that, um, this guy could be the one to, y'know, break the spell. And if he is, he should really get a more comfortable room than the dungeon…"

Ken growled and rolled over until he was facing the teapot, who's lid started quivering and clattering. Ken smirked a little at that. "And what if he isn't, Tsuna? Hm? Why should I bother if the guy isn't gonna help me at all?"

"Ummm, well, it would still be really nice of you…" Tsuna trailed off, eyes averted, and Ken snorted again.

"Whatever."

Morning rolled around, and Chikusa awoke to the sounds of the heavy lock being unlocked. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and stuffed his forgotten yoyo into his pocket, slowly standing up as the door opened. The blonde beast from last night stepped into the light and Chikusa watched him as they held a minor staring contest. Then the beast shrugged and turned around.

"Follow me. I'll show you to your room."

Chikusa blinked slowly, the sudden change of heart strange to him, but wasted no time in getting out of the dungeon and following after the beast. There was a bit of silence between, so Chikusa spoke up. "My name is Chikusa Kakimoto."

The beast looked back at him and snorted a little. "I'm Ken." He paused for a second, then grinned, vicious teeth exposed. "Kakipi."

"Huh?"

"That's what I'm gonna call you. Kakipi. Sounds a lot better."

Chikusa stared at the back of Ken's head in slight disbelief. This monster, who had locked him up for the night, and had been holding his father for who knows how long, seemed to be rather childish. Now that the introductions were out of the way, Ken seemed more talkative.

"The servants'll bring you a breakfast and lunch, and you can join me for dinner. And you can go anywhere in the castle. As long as you don't leave. You're still my prisoner, Kakipi." He added the last statement with an amused smirk back at Chikusa's face. Chikusa raised an eyebrow in retaliation and Ken laughed.

"Oh, just don't go into my quarters." Ken added, his voice turning serious and his feet ceasing their movement so he could turn and stare Chikusa right in the eyes.

"I was never planning on going there in the first place." Chikusa retorted, and Ken snorted and resumed the walk to Chikusa's room. They reached their destination and Ken left, allowing Chikusa to open the door and step inside his new room.

It was large and filled with objects, and he had to wonder how many of them were enchanted. The large, plush bed looked very inviting, and there was even a bathroom attached. It was a huge step up from the dungeon, that was certain.

"Ooooo! Look at this cutie!" A voice came from his right side, and Chikusa jumped slightly and turned around, coming face to drawer with a wardrobe. He raised an eyebrow and looked up, soon finding the face that signified the item was possessed by a servant, only to find it looking at him in an almost hungry way.

"So beautiful!" the wardrobe cooed, smiling wide. "I really do just want to dress you up!"

"… And you are?"

"My name's Lussoria, honey. Now come on! Let's get you out of those clothes!"

"Uhhh…" Chikusa backed away from the wardrobe, who scooted closer to him, doors wiggling in excitement. Then there was a knock against the door and Chikusa swooped over to open it up, a cart rolling in. Breakfast sat on it, along with a teapot and cup that looked up at him, as well as the Gokudera-candelabra.

"Hello." Chikusa said dully to them, slightly relieved to have a distraction from the creepy wardrobe, who had seemed to give up and started sulking against the wall.

"Hello!" the teapot greeted him cheerfully and introduced himself as Tsuna and informing him that the teacup was Fuuta. Chikusa said his hellos to each of them, then started eating his breakfast, finding himself hungrier than he had anticipated. He hadn't had dinner the other night, and a night of sleeping on a cold, hard floor certainly didn't help him forget about his other problems, like an empty stomach.

He was slightly disturbed about the thought of drinking from a cup that was actually a person, but Fuuta assured him that he didn't really feel anything and that the hot tea would be good for him. Eventually Chikusa relented and sipped from the cup.

When he was done, Chikusa asked about why they all were the way they were.

"It's a curse." Tsuna said, his voice a little sad. "Years and years and years ago, everybody was all normal. Human. Then one day, a girl came to the castle in the middle of a storm, wanting shelter."

"Well, our darling Prince Ken doesn't like girls." Gokudera spat out, clearly blaming the man for all he had to suffer through. "He's not as flaming as this fairy here-" He jerked a candle towards Lussoria, who just smiled.

"'Flaming'? That's nice, coming from a _candelabra_."

Gokudera growled, the flames on his wicks flaring brightly. "What I'm _saying_," he strained the words out through clenched teeth. "Is that he doesn't even have a single female servant here. All male."

Tsuna picked up the story before Gokudera could lose his temper. "So when the girl came to the door, Ken just laughed and shut her out. But then she revealed her true form, a powerful sorcerer named Mukuro. He cast a curse upon the master, transforming him into a beast, and all of us merged with the nearest object. Mukuro left him an enchanted rose, saying that if he found someone that could love him past his appearance before the last petal on the flower wilted, we would all be free."

"So far exactly thirty two women and twenty six men have tried to break the spell. None of them stayed longer than four days." Fuuta said, the stats spoken enough to dishearten all the servants in the room.

Chikusa sat back in the bed, leaning on his elbows for support. "That many? I know his looks are rather shocking at first, but it's at least interesting."

"How fucked up _are_ you?"

"Says the candelabra."

The two glared at each other, missing the surprised smile on Tsuna's face that he shared with Fuuta. He excused himself and the tray wheeled itself back out of the room, leaving Chikusa to sprawl out on the bed. He was curious now. He wanted to see this enchanted rose, and he supposed it would be in Ken's quarters. Well, he didn't care much about personal space boundaries, and if Ken was going to 'imprison' him but still let him roam around the castle, he shouldn't really be surprised if Chikusa wanders into his room.

So he untied the cloak he hadn't noticed was still around his neck and left it hanging over the edge of the bed while he exited his room. He wandered the hallways, peering into a room for a moment to see Ken curled up in front of a fire, sound asleep.

After some trial and error, Chikusa located Ken's room, suddenly hit with a mess Chikusa wasn't sure was entirely humanly possible. Obviously Ken didn't allow any of the servants in there. Clothing that obviously would not fit his current frame lay strewn across the floor, over the dressers, some of it torn into shreds. The drapery was of the same state, as well as the walls and a picture barely hanging on the wall. Claw marks decorated nearly every inch of the room. There was a bed off in the corner, large and mostly unbroken, and beside it lay a table with a shimmering rose.

Chikusa could only assume that was the right rose, and walked closer, watching the floating flower slowly lose a petal. It drifted to the table's shining surface, joining around six others of its kind. Chikusa was about to lift up the glass case trapping it when he heard harsh, loud breathing in the room, and he turned towards the doorway.

Ken walked on all fours towards him, growling and clearly angry. "Why did you come in here? I told you not to!" he yelled.

"Well, you say something like that, and you can hardly expect someone to not be curious." Chikusa retorted, quivering slightly from the intense glare Ken shot him. He growled and roared, standing up straight and flinging and arm out, breaking the bedpost in half.

"GET OUT!" he roared, and Chikusa had to sidestep when Ken lunged for him. "GET OUT OF MY CASTLE! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" A great paw shot forth and grabbed Chikusa's shirt collar, the boy giving out a strangled yelp at the motion. Ken loped out of his room, past the servants who had heard the scuffle, and slid down the banister, throwing Chikusa onto the floor.

The boy scrambled to his feet, staring at Ken slightly wide eyed for a moment, until the beast scrunched up his face and roared once more. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Chikusa turned and ran, pausing only to open the door out of the castle, and shot out into the snow and wind.

Ken huffed and slowly climbed back up the stairs. The servants all stared at him, no one saying a thing until a clock hopped up next to Gokudera. "That was a little EXTREME!" Gokudera scowled and shoved a candle in Ryohei's face. Ken glared as he passed them, and walked up to the room Chikusa had been given. Lussoria looked at him when he walked in, noticing the cloak still laying on the bed. The beast's face softened.

Chikusa ran, shivering, holding his arms close to his chest. He wished he had been given the chance to take his cloak back. Well, he was free now. He could always go out and buy another cloak.

The thought seemed strange. He was free now. Free to go back to his boring life with a father that didn't care and a stupid blonde prince that wanted to marry him. At least this last blonde prince he met didn't seem so self-centered. Chikusa's legs slowed down, numbed both by the cold and his own thoughts.

He had stayed in the castle for a night and half a day, and most of his time was spent in a dungeon. Still, it had been the most interesting time he had ever experienced. Chikusa sighed, a plume of white clouds expelled into the air around him, then sucked in a sudden breath when he heard multiple howls around him. His eyes darted around, unsure of where he was and how to escape the situation he had gotten himself into.

A pack of wolves surrounded him and Chikusa froze, eyes darting around. There was no way he could get out of this easily. With no other weapon at hand, he reached into his pocket, grabbing his yoyo as the wolves began their attack. He dodged them and slipped the string around his finger, quickly thrusting the toy at one wolf's face. It got him in the eye and the wolf staggered to the side. Two more took his place and Chikusa began a desperate dance of evading and attacking.

Then searing pain shot through his leg, and his knees buckled. Chikusa forced himself to stay standing, knowing the danger he'd be in if he fell into the snow, and swung a hand down to pound on the muzzle of a gray wolf. Another wolf leapt for his other hand, latching its teeth into the boy's palm, and Chikusa couldn't hold back the painful scream that ripped at his throat.

Suddenly there was a great roar, a familiar sound that didn't come from any of the wolves, and a great blonde blur rampaged into the fray, knocking the wolves away from Chikusa. He fell to the red-stained snow, looking up at Ken looming protectively over him, snarling at the animals around them. Then they leaped, swarming over Ken, biting and clawing into his fur as he roared and swatted at them.

His teeth flashed, sinking into the abdomen of one wolf, and the others howled. Before he could pull his teeth out of the wolf's flesh, another leapt for his face, a paw slicing over his nose, a great bloody gash visible. Ken roared and swatted the wolf away, his fury fueling him into driving the surviving wolves away.

Slowly, he turned to face Chikusa, still crumpled in the bloody snow, not that Ken was much of a better sight. He lumbered over wordlessly, picked up Chikusa, and slung him over his shoulder. The dark haired boy huffed at this treatment, but settled into the curve of Ken's body, fingers threading themselves into soft fur and gripping lightly. Slowly, Ken limped back to the castle, a thin trail of bloody splotches marking their trail.

At the castle, the servants nervously peered into the den, where Ken and Chikusa sat in front of the fire. Chikusa had his leg and hand already bandaged up and he was busy wrapping bandages around Ken's head, covering up the gash over his nose.

"Sorry for kicking you out…" Ken mumbled, the quiet sound a little surprising after the long silence that had enveloped the two. Chikusa blinked at him for a moment, pausing in his wrapping job, before leaning forward to wrap his arms around the other's head, tugging the white bandages a little tighter.

"I apologize for entering your room without permission." He replied, finally finishing his wrapping job. He tugged the edge a little tighter, tucking it into the rest of the bandages.

"Well I overreacted a little." Chikusa raised an eyebrow. Ken stared at him grumpily. "_A little_." Then he paused, the anger melting away, and he smiled at Chikusa. "Too bad you missed your chance to really escape though, Kakipi. Now I've decided to keep you around forever."

"Oh well, I guess I'll just have to live with that." Chikusa said, patting Ken's head lightly. The beast grumped a little and swatted the hand away, but didn't miss the small smile that graced Chikusa's lips. He grinned himself and stretched out, Chikusa leaning against him as they rested in a comfortable silence.

If any of the servants had any hands, they would be giving each other a thumb-up sign.

The days passed by without Chikusa even noticing, and the days turned into weeks. Eventually Ken's gash over his nose had healed enough to take the bandages off, and Chikusa had taken a moment to trace the pale scar that was left behind. The two had been spending most of their time together, lazing around inside, or taking a moment to frolic in the snow. It was mostly Ken who did the frolicking. Chikusa enjoyed lobbing snowballs at the other boy from his seat on the bench more.

They were eating lunch together when a coat rack lumbered over and whispered something in Ken's ear. He growled and shoved away his food, standing up. Chikusa watched him with a raised eyebrow.

"Tell them to get into position. And get Kakipi back to his room." Ken then loped off into another room, leaving the coat rack to tell someone in the kitchen to spread the word. It then walked over to Chikusa and urged him to his feet. Chikusa sighed and did as he was told, following the coat rack through the hallways he had come to know so well.

"Why do I have to go hide in my room?"

"The master wishes for you to be safe. You will be safe there." That answer was hardly enough to satisfy Chikusa, though he luckily didn't need to wait any longer for a real answer. A clock came hopping through the hallways, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"EVERYBODY! GET INTO EXTREME BATTLE POSITIONS! A MOB'S ON THE WAY!"

Chikusa wasted no time in getting to a window, but found his view blocked by the jutting rooftops of the castle, and ran down the hallway for another window, ignoring the coat rack's cries for him to get to his room. He easily slipped away and found a window with a clear view of the path to the castle's gate, and was slightly shocked to see an actual mob there. And a familiar blonde head leading them.

Then Belphegor looked up, and he saw Chikusa standing in the window. A grin split across his face and he quickly leapt and climbed his way onto the rooftops, making his way to Chikusa while the rest of the mob began battering down the door.

"Ushishishishi, there you are, my little wife." Belphegor climbed into the hallway through the window, backing Chikusa into the wall. Chikusa stared blankly at the blonde.

"I'm not your wife."

"Not yet, but all you need to do is come with me, away from this place."

"I don't want to."

"Ushishishishishishishi." Belphegor laughed, pulling out a knife and caressing the cool metal against Chikusa's cheek. "I don't care. It will happen one way or another. After your father told us about some evil enchanted castle you were being held prisoner in, I've been curious. And since you were missing for so long, I figured it might be true." He laughed again. "What do you know? It is. It should be lots of fun cutting everyone up in here."

Chikusa glared at him, and raised his hands to shove the boy away from him. "I'm not marrying you, and you're not going to hurt anyone in this castle. So just-" His sentence was cut off as he suddenly found a knife jammed into his shoulder. He hissed at the pain, and turned on his heel to run, his body slamming right into a great furry beast that wrapped his arms around the boy before he could fall.

"I thought I told you to get to your room." Ken growled, but his eyes were focused on the knife jutting out of Chikusa's shoulder. Belphegor laughed behind him, and Chikusa found himself thrown to the side before Ken lunged for the blonde, sending the both of them flying out of the window, rolling over the rooftops. They jumped and fought, and Chikusa found himself ripping the knife from his shoulder before running through the hallways, following the fight as best he could.

As he ran, he saw that the mob had entered the castle, and were in the process of fighting with the servants. He saw the baker being set aflame by Gokudera, Ryohei ringing and pounding away at a neighbour's head, and various unsuspecting toes being trodden on as Dino, the rocking horse, rocked forwards into the fray.

He soon found the balcony, where he could see Belphegor and Ken fighting in the middle. As he rounded the corner, he saw the glint of silver in Belphegor's hand, and his eyes widened as he saw that flash pierce deep into Ken's side. A mighty, roaring cry burst from Ken's lips as he crumpled to the ground, and Chikusa found he couldn't get there fast enough.

Belphegor's lips parted in his usual mocking, maddening laugh, and Chikusa grit his teeth as he ran forward, fumbling in his pockets for something, anything. He grabbed his yoyo and threw it at the laughing boy, hitting him square on the head, enough to unbalance him and send him toppling over the railing. Chikusa paid no mind to his fading cries as he rushed to Ken's side, running a hand through his soft fur and looking into his cloudy eyes.

Ken groaned, a feeble sound that didn't sound right coming from him, and Chikusa instinctively leaned closer, pressing his hands closer to the other's body. "Ken?"

"Kakipi?" Chikusa bit his lip, feeling overwhelmed by the emotions swirling inside him. He had spent so much of his time feeling lethargic, feeling nothing but boredom and apathy for the world around him. Only with Ken did that feeling dissipate. He made him enjoy life, enjoy the presence of another person, and really feel _something_. Now he was dying, and Chikusa felt a very real and sudden burst of true fear.

"Don't die on me, stupid." He murmured, running his fingers through Ken's fur, working his way up to the other's face.

"Fuck, you think I'm – wheeze – _trying_ to do this?" Ken gave out a faint attempt at a laugh, his voice growing dimmer with each word. Chikusa tightened his grip on the other's fur, his teeth finding their way to his lip and gnawing desperately at it.

"Don't die. Don't you dare die…" He buried his face in the other's chest, trying to hold onto the heartbeats and raspy breaths that still shifted Ken's chest. Slowly, his eyes slipped closed, and the motion in his chest slowed to a stop. Chikusa gripped him tighter, his teeth releasing his lip so he could properly speak. "I love you…"

Everything was silent around him. The fighting had stopped, and Chikusa couldn't be bothered as to find out which side won. There was no wind, not even snow was falling. It seemed the world had fallen still. Chikusa squeezed his eyes closed, knowing there was nothing else to distract him at that moment anyways. The world was quiet and motionless, allowing him a moment to take in Ken's death.

Then a bright glow penetrated past his eyelids and Chikusa had to slowly open them and scoot away from Ken, who had begun glowing. He blinked out the strange lights that spotted his vision as the soft light enveloped Ken, slowly transforming his golden fur to pale skin, the gaping hole in his side filled up. His paws became hands and feet, and his face morphed into that a young man, an unruly head of blonde hair upon his head.

Slowly, Ken's eyes opened up, blinking open as he sat up, dazed and confused. He stared at his body, lifting his hands and inspecting them, then turned his attention to Chikusa, a grin on his face. The dark haired boy couldn't help but notice he still had a set of sharp teeth.

"You broke the spell, Kakipi!" he said excitedly, jumping up to his feet excitedly. Chikusa stood up slowly, unable to take his eyes off the boy. Gingerly, he walked closer, raising a hand to gently trace the scar over his nose.

"Ken." He breathed out that single, simple word and let himself get wrapped up in the blonde's arms with lips pressed eagerly against his own. Chikusa returned the feeling, slipping his arms over Ken's shoulders and around his neck, barely feeling the twinge of pain from his shoulder wound at the motion.

He pressed his lips back against Ken's, the raw skin showing from when he gnawed at it making the sensations tingle all the more, and soon he found himself parting those lips for Ken's imploring tongue. They held each other flush against the other, tongues rubbing against the other, breath gathered through their noses, for a while. They didn't notice the transformed servants coming to check on their master, though said servants bid a quick retreat from the heated scene before them.

Tsuna smiled as he looked at his hands, then glanced back towards the balcony. Gokudera paused, looking back at the boy. "Everything okay? We _will_ come back and make sure they're okay later. Just not when they're… busy…" Tsuna smiled and shook his head.

"I just always love a happily ever after."


End file.
